After tulip stroll with Rijiju, Waqf thorns sprout for Omar Abdullah

SRINAGAR: J&K chief minister Omar Abdullah went for morning walk Monday in Srinagar’s famed Tulip Garden with Union minister Kiran Rijiju, leading a prickly opposition in the assembly hours later to slam him over rejection of a motion to discuss the Waqf law while indulging in a stroll with the man who piloted it in Parliament.

Two contrasting pictures played out. Union minority affairs minister Rijiju described his walk “amid vibrant hues” with Omar and his father, National Conference (NC) president Farooq Abdullah, as “refreshing”. Hardly so, chorused People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and Peoples Conference as they slammed Omar in the assembly over laying out the “red carpet for the BJP minister who introduced the Waqf bill meant to disempower and debilitate Muslims”.

The assembly witnessed prolonged shouting matches after Speaker Abdul Rahim Rather -- who is from NC -- rejected the adjournment motion brought by nine legislators to discuss the Waqf (Amendment) Act. These included eight NC members.

Rather pointed out that the Waqf (amendment) bill had now become law with the President giving consent. Also, the law has been challenged in the Supreme Court and assembly rules prohibit debates on a sub-judice issue, the Speaker contended.

But NC legislator Tanvir Sadiq, who moved the adjournment motion, cited precedents where laws passed by Parliament were discussed in assemblies across the country. Punjab and Rajasthan assemblies had discussed farm bills, Sadiq said. PDP’s Waheed Parra weighed in, saying Tamil Nadu assembly recently discussed the Waqf law.

BJP legislators thumped tables, applauding the Speaker. NC legislators waved black bands, railing against the Waqf Act as a “black law” and raising Allahu Akbar slogans. BJP MLAs chanted Jai Shri Ram.

PDP president and former CM Mehbooba Mufti accused NC of “meekly surrendering before the BJP” “It’s disappointing that the Speaker has rejected the Waqf motion. Despite securing a strong mandate, the (NC) govt appears to have completely yielded to BJP’s anti-Muslim agenda, cynically attempting to appease both sides,” Mehbooba alleged.

She stressed that “the NC could learn” from Tamil Nadu’s DMK govt and the way in which it firmly opposed the Waqf bill. “In J&K, the only Muslim-majority region, it’s alarming that a supposedly people-centric govt lacks the courage even to debate this critical issue,” Mehbooba added. Mehbooba’s daughter Iltija Mufti echoed the views.

Sajad Lone of People’s Conference hit out at Omar over the garden walk, saying the CM of the only Muslim-majority region in India should have stayed away from Rijiju. “Instead, he tagged along Farooq sahib as well. What a shame,” Lone said.

Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, chairman of All Parties Hurriyat Conference, stressed the contrast with Tamil Nadu. “Tamil Nadu, which only has 6% Muslim population, passed a strong anti-Wakf resolution in its assembly. The assembly Speaker of Muslim majority-J&K is struggling and refusing by hiding behind technicalities to discuss it,” Mirwaiz said.